Childhood Discoveries
by MLissagirl
Summary: Harry is in the Hospital Wing. Or isn't he? What has Draco got to do with it? This is Slash!
1. Chapter 1

Harry yawned. He opened his eyes and blinked against the bright light that came through the Tower windows. He got up and stretched luxuriously. It was the second day of his seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The 7th years boy dormitory was still quiet and peaceful. Harry went to take a shower.

His summer at the Dursley's was dismal at best. The chores he had to do, never seemed to get to an end and his relatives would rather be lazy then tired. After 4 weeks of working like a slave, Ron Weasley came to the rescue, once again.

Not by car this time, mind you! No, he had sent a warning letter to Harry that he had to be prepared to leave 30 minutes after he got this letter. Harry had packed at lightning speed and exactly 30 minutes later, the letter started to glow. Harry, being curious, picked the letter up and he felt a tug behind his navel. When he had finally felt solid ground beneath his feet, he was immediately swept off them again. Mrs Weasley had him locked in one of her famous hugs.

Harry's stay with the Weasley's, had been far, far better then his stay at his relatives. Two weeks before the start of school, Hermione came over too. They had played Quidditch, while Hermione was drawing, painting and sketching them. It was a new hobby of hers and to be honest, she wasn't very good at it. She seemed to be enjoying it however and Ron and Harry decided to let her be. The 2 weeks came to an end and now they were at Hogwarts.

"Harry? Are you in the shower?" Ron yelled from his bed. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I'll hurry!" he yelled back. He turned off the water and towelled off. He put on a pair of boxers, put his glamour in place and walked into their dorm. He chuckled when he saw that Ron had fallen asleep again. He tiptoed to his mates bed and leaned close to his ear.

"SHOWER IS FREE!" Harry yelled loudly. Ron yelped and fell out of his bed. Harry was doubled over with laughter while the rest of his dorm mates grumbled about 'too early' and '5 minutes mum!'

Ron scrambled from the floor and glared at Harry, causing said teen to laugh even harder. Ron took his things and disappeared to the bathroom.

Harry chuckled some more and went to dress himself. He waited for Ron and together they walked to breakfast. Hermione decided to come later because she had a painting to finish. Just before they wanted to go into the Hall, a familiar voice sounded through the air.

"Everyone quick! Bow to King Potty!" Draco snarled harshly. His goons Crabbe and Goyle where flanking him.

"Shut up Malfoy!" Ron growled. Draco chuckled.

"And of course The Weasel, Potty's sidekick!" Draco continued. Harry sighed. Their useless rivalry had been going on for 6 years now. Harry had enough of it.

"Tell me Draco, why are we all still fighting? I mean, Tom is defeated, why continue with these childish things," Harry asked calmly, effectively shutting Draco up.

"What did you just call me?" he asked.

"Draco. It's your name right? Or did you decide to change it?" Harry said innocently.

"What the hell are you playing at Potter? Is it be-nice-to-thou-enemy-day today or something?" Draco said suspiciously, not knowing how to handle this situation.

"Not that I know of, no," Harry replied casually.

"You are up to something! Be careful Potter, or you'll end up killing someone again,"

"As long it's you, I've got no problem with that!" Ron replied, glaring at Draco.

"Well I was thinking of you, Weasel. Or maybe the Mudblood. Seems to me like you have a knack of killing the ones around you. The damn dog, for example." Draco was merciless. Harry went rigid.

"What did you say?" Harry hissed dangerously. Draco smirked. He was back in control.

"You heard me. King Potter kills his own pets,"

"Malfoy, this is low. Even for you!" Ron said icily and focussed his attention on Harry. The raven-haired teen was staring off in space.

"Harry? Mate, are you alright? You shouldn't listen to that git, it's not your fault he died." Ron shook Harry a little but got no response. Harry swayed on his feet, his eyes rolled back as he fell. Ron caught him and lowered him to the ground.

"HARRY!" he yelled, shaking him harder. Draco was stunned.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," he stammered. Ron's eyes shot fire.

"You never know when to stop, do you Ferret!" he shouted.

"Not my fault that Potter can't handle a few jokes,"

"A joke! Is this what it is, a joke! He barely made it through his 6th year because of the guilt he felt for putting his godfather in danger. Harry struggled to keep up with class, to stay awake, because he couldn't sleep at night. His nightmares were worse then ever!" Ron bellowed.

"I…I," Draco stuttered.

"Why am I wasting my time to explain to you? Get Pomfrey you git!" Ron yelled. Draco didn't move.

"Malfoy, MOVE!" Ron was beyond himself. Draco nodded and went to get Madam Pomfrey. He burst into the infirmary.

"Madam Pomfrey! Potter has fainted!" he shouted and she came running to him.

"Mr Malfoy, what are you shouting about?" she asked. Draco grabbed her arm and dragged her to the Hall. Right in front of it, was Harry Potter laying on the floor. Students had gathered around him, while Ron was trying to keep them back.

"Out of my way!" she shouted and made her way to Harry. She levitated him on a stretcher.

"What happened?" she demanded. Ron glared at Draco, who looked down.

"We were kind of having a fight and I said things I shouldn't have. He got mad and now he's like this," Draco said. Ron was mildly shocked.

"I see. Well if you would come with me Mr Malfoy, Mr Weasley." She walked away with Harry levitating in front of her. Draco and Ron followed her.

In the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey examined Harry. Hermione came bursting through the door and Ron explained everything.

"He's not over it yet Ron," she sighed sadly. Draco felt even worse. He never wanted for this to happen. It was just a joke to him. Now he saw that it wasn't a joke to Harry.

"He's catatonic," Madam Pomfrey said. Hermione gasped.

"Catatonic! No," Hermione whispered. Ron and Draco were confused.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"He's in some sort of coma. It's anyone's guess when he wants to join us again," Madam Pomfrey said sadly. Ron rounded on Draco.

"You! You did this!" Ron accused. Draco looked scared.

"I never wanted this!" he tried but both Harry's friends were not convinced. Draco ran.

He ran through the halls to the dungeons. He quickly opened his door and got into his room. He carefully closed the door and put wards on it.

'Gods what have I done,' he thought. He decided to skip classes and laid down on his bed. He was asleep in no time.

He awoke when he heard a noise. It sounded like somebody opened the door of his closet and closed it again. Draco got of his bed and slowly walked over to the closet. He opened it.

There was nothing…Although…He heard the sound of muffled sobs. He looked closer and saw a little boy with black hair. He was hiding his face in his shirt, which was at least 6 sizes to big.

'What the hell!' he thought.

"Please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to wake you up!" the little boy sobbed.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Why don't come out of there? I'll get you something to drink," Draco said. The little boy went to shake his head but nodded. Slowly he lowered the shirt and climbed out of the dark closet. Draco looked him over.

He was scared and painfully thin. His clothes hung of him and were torn. The boy kept looking at the floor. Draco kneeled down. The boy flinched.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again in a tiny voice. Draco gently lifted the little chin up. He gasped. The little face was pale and the left eye was shut because of the big bruise surrounding it. The other eye was a bright emerald green with tears in it. The thing that really stood out, was the lightning bolt shaped scar on the forehead.


	2. Chapter 2

"Harry?" Draco said incredulously.

"I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Harry sobbed. Draco shook his head.

"I'm not going to hurt you. How old are you?"

"I'm 4," he squeaked. Draco really was confused now.

"How did you get here?" Draco decided to get as much information as possible. Harry Potter was in the hospital wing as a 17 year old. Not in his room as a 4 year old.

"I don't know. I was doing chores and then I was here," Harry sniffed. Draco looked at the bruise around the left eye.

"That doesn't look so good, how did you get it?"

"I fell," Harry said quickly. Draco was not fooled.

"I don't think you fell Harry. Who did this?" Draco asked carefully.

"Aunt 'Tunia," he whispered. Draco was shocked. He thought Harry lived like a king. Seems now, he's a servant.

"Why?"

"Because I didn't make breakfast fast enough. I really was my fault." Harry trembled and wrapped his arms around himself.

"Are you cold?" Draco asked. Harry nodded. Draco got up and took a blanket out of the closet.

"Come here." Draco said and Harry stumbled over to him. Draco noticed the limp the little boy was walking with. He wrapped the blanket around Harry and kneeled down again.

"Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. Why don't we go sit by the fire," he suggested. Harry looked frightened for a moment but nodded. Harry slowly limped over and sat on the couch. He curled up in a ball. Draco sat beside him.

"I saw you limping a bit. Does your leg hurt?" Draco asked.

"A bit," he whispered.

"Can I take a look? Maybe I can help," Draco said carefully. Harry looked apprehensive. Draco sighed. He took out his wand and saw Harry flinch violently. 

"No…no, please!" Harry whimpered. Draco got off the couch and crouched down in front of Harry.

"Have you ever heard of magic?" Draco asked softly. He saw Harry's eyes grow wide and the little boy scrambled away from him.

"No, you… you can't say that! That's a swear word! It is not real…You said the Forbidden Word!" Harry leapt off the couch and ran/limped back to the bedroom again. Draco heard the opening and closing of his closet and sighed. He never expected Harry to react this way. He opened the door to his closet again.

"Why is it a Forbidden Word? It's real." Draco squeezed into the closet himself and closed the door. He wasn't particularly fond of the dark and it was beyond him why this little boy liked it so much.

"It's not real. Aunt 'Tunia said so!" Harry said stubbornly

"But if I would show you, would you believe me then?" Draco asked.

"Who are you?" Harry asked still terrified

"I'm Draco. Why do you sit in this closet by the way?"

"It's like my cupboard and I feel safe in it," Harry whispered sadly.

"You sleep in a cupboard!" Draco said outraged.

"Yes," Harry squeaked and pressed himself closer against the wall of the closet. Draco muttered a few obscenities under his breath before focussing on the shaking little boy again. He casted Lumos and he felt a lot better. He saw Harry gawking at him.

"I told you I can do magic. I bet you can do it too," Draco explained.

"Could be a flashlight." Harry was still sceptical. Draco put the light out and conjured up a flashlight. He switched it on and gave it to Harry.

"Watch." Draco conjured up a soft, stuffed lion and gave that to Harry as well. Harry had dropped the flashlight when he saw the little lion coming out of nowhere. Draco picked it up and Harry accepted the lion, looking it over carefully, as if proving it was real.

"I can do this too?" he asked wide-eyed. Draco nodded.

"This place you are now, it is a school to learn how to do magic. Everyone can do magic here. You want to try something?" Draco had the little boy's attention now as he nodded.

"We can't do it in here, so we need to go out of this thing." Draco opened the doors and they both got out. Harry went to stand beside Draco and watched closely. Draco decided to start with a first year spell.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted and a book on the desk in his room slowly hovered in the air.

"Wow!" Harry breathed. Draco smirked and gave Harry his wand.

"Now you try." Draco went to stand behind Harry and took a hold of the little boy's wrist. He didn't flinch this time and Draco saw that as a good sign. He instructed the boy on how to do the 'swish and flick' It amazed Draco at how quickly Harry seemed to pick it up. He got a quill out of his bag and put it on the desk.

"Levitate that," Draco said. Harry aimed the wand at the quill.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry called and the quill trembled a bit.

"Again," Draco urged. Harry tried again and the quill hovered a few inches above the desk, stayed there for a few seconds and dropped back down. Draco smiled at him.

"Very good! You have a talent!" Harry beamed and Draco decided he looked adorable. He took the wand back and they sat down on the couch again.

"Now that you believe in magic, can I take a look at your leg? I promise I won't hurt you." Draco was curious as to why the boy was limping. Harry hesitated for a moment but rolled up his trousers to show Draco a couple of large bruises and a scraped knee. His ankle was swollen too. It was a miracle that he could even walk at all!

"Did your aunt do this too?" Draco gently looked closer at the bruises. He felt Harry tremble again and he knew it wasn't from being cold. Draco got some Healing salve and applied it to Harry's leg. He healed the ankle and in no time at all, the pain was gone. Harry's trembling didn't stop however and Draco carefully took Harry's little hands in his.

"You're safe here Harry. I'll make sure no one hurts you here," Draco promised solemnly. Suddenly he had an arm full of Harry. Draco gently wrapped his arms around the shaking boy and rocked him back and forth.

"Sshh, it's okay. I'll help you angel, don't worry," Draco soothed. Harry calmed down and detangled himself from Draco. He stood up and started to pull his shirt off. Draco was confused.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Draco asked but Harry had his shirt off now and he gasped. The ribs were poking through the thin skin and dozens of cuts and bruises marred his chest. When Harry turned around he saw what could be whip marks.

"Please make them go away," Harry whispered softly and stared at the floor, ashamed. Draco pulled the little boy on his lap and examined his back. The marks seemed a couple of days old. The bruises were definitely recent. Draco applied the salve again and Harry winched when he applied it to his back. Last he applied some on the black eye. Harry clung to him when he was done.

Draco stood up and carried Harry to the bedroom again. He got some pyjama's and transfigured them so they could fit Harry. He carefully helped Harry in them and tucked him in.

"Sweet dreams angel." Draco kissed Harry's head and went to leave.

"Thank you," was the whispered response as the little boy snuggled up under the covers. Draco smiled. When he went to turn off the lights, he saw a bit of parchment on the floor. He picked it up and saw something written on it.

_Draco_

This is me at 4 years old. I'll be staying for a week before I go back to where I came from. You can never tell anyone about what you are going to learn about me, not even Ron and Hermione. I'm sure you can think of an explanation to give them, because they will find out soon that I'm with you. In my other pocket is a small Pensieve. It contains one memory, one event that really had an impact on me. I'm doing this because you don't seem to know me as I want you to know me. Take care of me.

Harry 

Draco was stunned and sat down on the couch.

"How is this possible?" he whispered to himself. He laid down and promptly fell asleep with the note still clutched in his hands.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a persistent knock on the door and Draco woke with a jolt. The person knocked again, harder this time. Draco grumbled and opened the door to a furious looking Hermione and Ron. They pushed past them and he closed the door.

"What do you want?" Draco asked tiredly. Hermione advanced on him and Ron lingered close by.

"We want an explanation as to why you felt like you had to be a total bastard! Sure, you've always been one but this time you put Harry in de hospital with a very serious condition," she hissed angrily.

"I don't have an explanation for that! I was joking and now I see my mistake. I'm sorry, I really never meant for this to happen," Draco said sincerely.

"Harry had a point you know; why do you want to keep up with these stupid fights?" Ron asked.

"I don't know! Old habits die hard I guess." Draco sat down on the couch.

"You're not taking this serious, are you? You just put our friend in a coma, don't you care?" Hermione screeched loudly. Draco got mad now too.

"Of course I take this seriously! I just have another…" Draco was cut of by a loud, piercing scream, coming from his bedroom. He ran and opened the door. He turned on the light and rushed to the bed.

Harry was sitting against the headboard, knees drawn tightly to his chest and shaking with sobs. Hermione and Ron, who had followed Draco, gasped.

"Is that…" Ron whispered. Draco glared at him and focussed on the little boy on his bed. He carefully took him in his arms and hugged him.

"What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" Draco asked softly while rocking him back and forth. Harry nodded in his shoulder and held on tightly. Draco sighed and stood up. He carried him to the couch and sat down with him. Ron and Hermione stood frozen.

"What was the dream about angel?" Harry shook his head.

"You don't want to tell? Alright, I'm not going to force you, but I think it will be better if you tell," Draco tried. Harry hesitated but nodded.

"I just heard bad laughing and a girl was screaming and there was a green light and then my head hurt," Harry whispered all in one breath. Draco heard Hermione gasp.

"That's what Harry remembers about his mothers final moments. He told us in third year when the dementors effected him so. This is what he heard, right before he fainted," she explained.

"Malfoy, what the hell is going on!" Ron demanded. Draco felt Harry flinch.

"I would suggest you keep your tone neutral here Weasel!" Draco said calmly. He pulled away slightly and looked at the emerald eyes.

"Are you okay now?" Harry nodded. Draco gently wiped away the tears from the little face.

"Malfoy, we would really like to know what is going on," Hermione tried. Harry now noticed the other occupants in the room.

"Can they do magic too?" he asked Draco shyly. Draco laughed.

"Yes they can Harry."

"So if I do freaky things again, they won't hurt me?" he whispered and glanced over at Ron and Hermione. They looked at him sadly. Draco sighed.

"Harry, those things are not 'freaky'. They are natural to wizards. And no they won't hurt you. I think you'll like them," Draco explained. Harry nodded and snuggled deeper into Draco's arms. He was asleep in no time. Draco stood up and put him to bed.

When he came back, Harry's friends were sitting on the couch, softly talking to each other. Draco sat in the chair opposite of them.

"I know that little boy is Harry…" Hermione started but was interrupted by Draco.

"I know you don't trust me, especially after what happened this morning. I'm sorry for what happened, I really am. When I ran, I ran here and I fell asleep. I woke up to a noise and I found 4 year old Harry in my closet. Hiding. So I don't now what's going on, except that he is here for 1 week and then he'll be going back,"

"Back where? How do you know all of this?" Hermione eyed him suspiciously.

"Harry wrote me a note. I don't know how all of this is possible, but we don't really have a choice then to take care of him,"

"A note? Can we see it?" Ron asked, still not trusting him. Draco shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that,"

"Why not? Surely Harry trusts us. I still don't understand why he would give _you_ a note." Hermione huffed.

"Harry asked to keep this a secret so that's what I'm gonna do,"

"You wanna keep little Harry a secret? He's got to go to classes with us. How else are you going to watch him?" Ron asked. Draco sighed.

"No of course not Weasel! Everything he tells me, everything I find out is going to be kept a secret. And yes, I'll do that." He added the last part because Hermione was looking rather disbelieving.

"We are his friends! We have a right to know Ferret!" Ron yelled.

"And I'm going to keep my mouth shut for once! Harry asked me not to tell you so I won't! Deal with it. Get out now, both of you!" Draco shouted angrily and shoved them out the door. Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He walked into his bedroom again and watched Harry sleeping for a while.

He suddenly remembered what Harry had wrote about a Pensieve. Draco picked up the baggy jeans and found a Pensieve about the size of a big round pebble. It fitted perfectly in his hand. Draco waved his wand over it and fell into the bowl of memories.


	4. Chapter 4

BOY! Get up and fix up the garden. You can finish the floor later!" a woman screamed at a little boy. Draco guessed that the woman was Harry's aunt and the little boy was Harry himself. He immediately noticed the bruise around Harry's eye. He watched as the little boy quickly got up and walked outside. Draco followed him.

Draco watched as Harry struggled with the huge watering can. Harry was far to young to do chores like this! Draco was outraged again. It was about to get worse.

Harry had now successfully watered the plants. He kneeled down next to a beautiful rosebush.

"I wish I could go somewhere where they want me. I don't want to live here anymore," little Harry whispered sadly and softy stroked over the petals of one of the roses. It began to bloom under Harry's touch. He pulled his hand back as if he had burned himself.

Draco smiled. Harry's magic was linked to his emotions, he knew that. He didn't know it started at such a young age. He was still smiling at Harry when the little boy carefully touched the blooming rose. The expression on Harry's face was adorable.

"YOU FREAK! I told you to stop doing that! I'll teach you boy!" the woman screamed and dragged Harry inside. Harry's ankle got stuck between the door when Petunia wanted to close it. Harry screamed in agony.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do magic again! I promise, I'll be good!" Harry wailed and was thrown on the kitchen floor. Draco was horrified but unable to do anything.

"No boy! You. Have. To. Learn!" Petunia slapped Harry hard at each word and he tried to scramble away. This only angered Petunia further and she started to hit him forcefully.

"Please, no, stop! I won't do I again! I won't do magic anymore!" Harry tried again. Petunia entered a whole new level of anger.

"You will not say that word ever again!" she punched him hard in the stomach and the boy fell back unconscious. She grabbed him and threw him in the cupboard under the stairs.

Draco gave up on fighting back his tears and fell back in his room. He sat up and drew his knees up to his chest.

'Oh Harry, how could I've been so stupid to believe you lived like a king!' he thought sadly. After a little while, the tears subsided and Draco lifted himself on the couch. Like earlier, he fell asleep immediately.

He woke up to a body in his arms. Draco opened one eye and recognized little Harry and smiled softly. The little boy was sleeping soundly and in his arms was the stuffed lion Draco had conjured. He gently shook the boy. Harry moaned and his eyes slowly opened. His expression turned frightful. He scrambled away and fell off the couch. Draco quickly took Harry's hand to prevent him from running.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" Harry sobbed and his thin frame shook with fear. Draco took the little boy in his arms and hugged him.

"I promised you I wouldn't hurt you, and I won't. I'm not mad at you. I just want to know why you where sleeping here, when you had the whole bed to yourself," Draco soothed softly and Harry was calming down slightly.

"I…I was just scared." Harry blushed. Draco smiled.

"It's okay. I want to help you. Please don't be scared of me. I'll make sure nothing happens to you here." Draco picked Harry up and carried him towards the bedroom. He sat him on the bed and walked over to the wardrobe. He shrunk one of his robes and helped Harry getting dressed. Then he quickly changed clothes himself since he didn't even changed in his pyjama's last night.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked when they walked out the door and into the chilly dungeons.

"We're going to have breakfast. Are you hungry?" Draco smiled at the dreamy expression Harry had at the mention of food.

"Can I really have breakfast?" Harry said in awe. Draco's heart tore at the hopeful tone and he swore he would let Harry eat whatever he wanted.

"Yes, of course." Draco and Harry entered the Hall and everyone fell silent. Dumbledore stood up.

"Who is the young man Mr Malfoy?" he asked politely but it was clear that the old coot knew exactly who 'the young man' was. Harry didn't like it when people stared and hid behind Draco.

"Harry Potter, sir. I can't tell you the details, but he's here for a week and I'll be taking full responsibility for him. Now, if you don't mind, we wish to be having breakfast," Draco said formally and sat down next to Blaise and Pansy. He picked Harry up and sat him down next to him. Harry, however, had other plans.

He crawled into Draco's lap and buried his face in his shoulders. Draco felt Harry shake and wrapped his arms around the scared boy.

"I don't like it when people stare Draco," he whispered softly and clung to Draco. The older boy sighed. He looked up and around and glared.

"What are you all looking at! Nothing to see here, you vultures! Get back to your breakfast," Draco sneered. He turned back to Harry again and smiled.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked and the little boy looked at the loaded table. 

"I don't know." Draco gently sat Harry in his own seat and started to load things on a plate.

"Why don't you try this. If you don't like it, we try something else. And if you want something, just ask. Okay?" Harry nodded and started eating. Draco smiled and loaded his own plate and started eating. After a few minutes he noticed Blaise and Pansy looking at him in shock.

"What?" he asked Blaise.

"Well, an explanation would be nice, for starters," he said.

"I already gave an explanation and I'm not going to say more. If you don't like it, it's your problem." Draco saw Pansy looking thoughtfully at Harry, who was taking little bites of his toast.

"He doesn't have the life we thought he had, does he?" It wasn't really a question, more of a fact being stated. Draco nodded.

Everything went fine till Harry accidentally knocked over his pumpkin juice, all over Pansy. Harry's eyes grew wide.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Harry cried and tried to slip under the table. Pansy grabbed him before he had the chance. Harry steeled himself for the blows to come. They didn't. He carefully opened his eyes and saw Pansy looking at him with a tearful expression. He stared at the floor.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again. Pansy gently took his hands and forced him to look at her.

"Don't worry Harry, it's alright. Look." Pansy took out her wand and cleaned up the mess. Harry stared at her again.

"See? It's alright. Now finish your breakfast, okay?" She smiled when Harry nodded and did as he was told. Draco had watched it all with a big grin. He leaned over to her.

"Going soft, Parkinson?" he whispered. She glared at him.

"Pots and kettles, Malfoy," she pointed out and went back to her breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

At the Gryffindor table, the Gryffs were keeping a close eye on everything.

"This is not right Hermione! Harry belongs with us, not with the ferret!" Ron spat. Hermione sighed.

"You're right. Harry does belong here. I'm hurt that Harry would rather trust Malfoy than us. We are his friends!" Hermione was just as angry. Ron was suddenly smirking.

"Okay Ronald, I know that look. What are you up to?" she asked

"I know how to get Harry. Listen…"

Ron and Hermione continued to perfect their plan, all the while keeping a close eye on Harry and the Slyths.

"Come Harry, first we have Potions." Draco stood up and helped Harry out of his seat. They all walked to the dungeons and took their seats. Draco glanced at the 2 thirds of the Golden Trio and found that they were acting very suspicious.

'I wonder what they are up to.' Draco thought. He didn't have time to dwell on it, because professor Snape chose the moment to enter and everyone went quiet.

Everything went fine during Potions, except for the glances professor Snape shot at Harry. After class, the professor motioned for them to stay behind.

"You wished to speak with me professor?" Draco asked politely while holding Harry's hand. The little boy stared at the floor. Severus nodded.

"I know that this is the Potter boy and that he is to stay with you for a week. I assume you are his, let we say, guardian?" Severus glared at Draco.

"Yes sir."

"I've noticed the faint bruise around the left eye. How did he get it?" Harry was now squirming. Draco picked him up.

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't tell you that. Now that you mentioned it, I do need more Healing salve, if it is possible?" Draco asked. Harry laid his head on Draco's shoulder. Severus glanced at the little boy and noticed the closed off appearance. He was very familiar with it and he did not want to believe that Harry Potter was a victim of child abuse.

"Healing salve? Since you seem in perfect health to me, I assume it's for young Harry?" Draco could tell by the soft tone of his godfathers voice, that he knew what happened to Harry.

"Yes sir." Though Severus now knew about Harry, Draco did not want to break his promise to Harry and tell him all the details. Severus nodded and went to get the salve.

Draco could feel Harry shaking and softly stroked his back. Severus came back and handed him the jar.

"If there are any problems, you know where to find me. Now go to your class," Severus said and stalked off.

The rest of the day went fine. Harry had only 3 panic attacks and Draco was able to calm him down within 5 minutes. First he panicked because the Gryffs were staring at him and he thought he had done something wrong. Draco solved it with a glare and some soothing words.

The second was during lunch. Blaise had temporarily forgotten about Harry being only four years old and had sneered at the boy when Harry asked if he could pass him some chicken legs.

Draco was so proud that Harry had asked for something out of his own and then Blaise went and spoiled it all. To say Draco was furious is an understatement. Draco had hexed Blaise so severely that he had to stay in the hospital wing overnight, regrowing his tongue. One thing was for sure; Blaise wouldn't ever forget _that._

The last panic attack was when they were in the Library, getting some books for DADA. Colin Creevy came up and snapped some pictures of Harry. The little boy in question, really didn't like it and hid in a corner of the Library. It took Draco 15 minutes filled with terror to find the poor boy and calm him down.

Draco then decided it was enough and they retreated to their room.

Though the trip to it went pretty smoothly, both were absolutely exhausted when they finally arrived in Draco's room.

"What about we call it a night early Harry? I don't know about you, but I'm knackered." Draco sat the both of them down on the bed and levitated their PJ's and the jar of salve towards them. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I'm tired too." Harry finished with a yawn. Draco smiled.

"I need to apply the salve again. Could you take your clothes off?" Harry took a deep breath and then slowly took the clothes off. He turned his back to Draco. The blonde inspected the almost invisible marks. They had healed nicely, they only needed one more application. There would be no scaring, thankfully.

Draco applied the salve and then they dressed themselves. When Draco had tucked Harry in and went to walk away to sleep on the couch, a little hand stopped him.

"Please?" was all that the little boy would say and Draco's heart melted. He smiled and got in next to Harry. Immediately, the little boy curled up in his side and sighed happily.

"Sweet dreams, angel." Draco kissed his forehead. Harry was already fast asleep. Soon Draco followed him to Dreamland.

"Okay lets get Harry," Ron said and threw off the Invisibility Cloak. Hermione followed him hesitantly. 

"I'm not so sure anymore Ron. Harry really looks happy here. And did you see his back! Absolutely horrid! Why didn't he tell us?" Ron sighed and faced her.

"I don't know. I never saw any scars when we were dressing or showering after Quidditch so I never asked. Now let get our friend. It's for his own good." They walked over to the bed and Hermione used the Levitation Charm to carefully Levitate Harry out of Draco's arms. The little boy whimpered a bit but stayed asleep.

Hermione steadied him and Ron opened the door. Silently they took Harry away from the only safe haven he currently had.

When Draco woke up in the morning and didn't find Harry in the bed, he got worried. He checked the bathroom, the closet, under the bed, the living room and even in de little cupboards in the very small kitchenette. Harry wasn't there. Draco panicked and went in search for Pansy. He found her in the Slytherin Common room

"Pansy! Have you seen Harry?" he asked frightfully. She shook her head.

"No I haven't. You lost him!" she said incredulously.

"Of course not! I put him to bed last night and in the morning he was gone. Please help me find him?" Draco pleaded and Pansy couldn't say no. They searched the whole common room and asked the other students to check the dorms. Nothing. They didn't find him in the dungeons as well. Draco was ready to go to Severus when he felt it. An overwhelming sense of fear. He could feel Harry reaching out to him via his magic. Draco concentrated and tracked down the source to the 7th floor.

"Pansy, isn't Gryffindor Tower on the 7th floor?" he asked her, barely containing his anger when another bout of fear washed over him. When she nodded he set off to the 7th floor. When he got there he saw a painting of a fat lady in a hideous pink dress.

"Password?" she asked formally.

"I don't know but you have to let me in, its very important," Draco gritted through his teeth.

"If you don't have the password, I can't let you in," she said decidedly. Draco's blood boiled. He could feel the emotions running high and was unable to control them any longer. His magic spiralled around him and started pushing at the portrait. The Lady got scared and fled. Draco continued pushing at the door till it blew up. He stormed inside. He heard Harry screaming and practically flew up the stairs and into the second dormitory on the left.

There he saw a hysterical Harry, huddling in the corner while Ron and Hermione looked absolutely powerless and scared.

Draco walked up to them and with one hand on each throat he pushed them up against the wall. 

"Don't ever do that again or I swear to Merlin, the consequences will be severe!" Draco screamed and dropped them both to the ground. He quickly made his way to Harry.

The boy was absolutely out of his mind with fear and didn't even notice when Draco dropped to the floor next to him. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he jumped and tried to scurry away from the offending appendage. Only when Draco grabbed him and placed him on his lap with his arms around the hysterical boy, Harry seemed to calm down enough to see that Draco was there and that he was safe.

Harry wrapped his arms around the blonde and refused to let him go. Draco lifted him up and walked away.

When he went to walk out of Gryffindor territory, he could hear Pansy screaming about responsibility and dense lions.

Draco smiled and took Harry to his room.


	6. Chapter 6

When in the room, Draco sat down on the couch with Harry. It took him another half hour before the raven-haired boy calmed down enough to talk.

"Are you alright Harry?" Draco asked worriedly and handed Harry a glass of pumpkin juice. The little boy nodded. He took a few sips and settled down against Draco's chest.

"What happened?" Draco asked softly and he felt Harry beginning to tremble again.

"I woke up and you weren't there. Then I saw those people and I didn't want to be with them. I wanted you and I asked if they could bring me back. They said they couldn't and that they were going to take care of me now," Harry sobbed. Draco calmly wrapped his arms around the shaking little boy but inside he was seething.

'How dare they! They should know better then to take Harry away when he is like this!' Draco continued to sooth Harry until he fell asleep.

Next day, Draco had 2 very ashamed Gryffindors at his door.

"We want to apologize. We should have never taken Harry. We're sorry Draco," Hermione said sincerely. Draco scoffed.

"Do you even realize what you did? You scared the hell out of him, you took him from the one place he felt safe and now he won't trust you anymore. Can you really not trust me, not to hurt little Harry while he's here? Was I doing so badly, taking care of him, that you had to kidnap him?! Why did you do it?" Draco demanded.

"Because it is _you_ taking care of him! He always hated you, so why would he want you to take care of him? We are his friends, why wouldn't he come to us?" Ron shouted at Draco. The blonde boy wasn't fazed. He walked over to his desk and pulled out the note. He handed it to them. After they read it they were looking unbelievingly at him.

"Now, you see I didn't use any trick or whatever. I didn't lie to you since I got Harry. I won't say anything that I found out, but I would appreciate a little help," Draco told them firmly.

"Draco?" Harry's voice carried through the room. When Harry saw Ron and Hermione he freaked and ran back to the bedroom. Draco sighed and followed him. The door to the closet was closing and sobbing was heard.

"Harry?" Draco carefully opened the door and peeked in.

"No! You said I could stay with you! I don't want to go with them!" Harry screamed and scrambled as far away from Draco as possible.

"Harry, you can stay with me. I won't send you away. You don't have to go with them," Draco explained. He opened the door more fully and picked Harry up. Still the little boy struggled.

Draco took him to the living room and sat down on the couch. Ron and Hermione were sitting opposite them. Harry pressed himself closer to Draco and panicked again. Draco could do nothing but hold him.

"Harry, we're sorry. We shouldn't have done that and we won't do it again. You can stay with Draco," Hermione said to the little boy in Draco's arms. Harry still looked terrified but the trembling stopped.

"Yeah, we really are sorry, we won't do it again," Ron said. Harry detangled himself from Draco and walked up to the 2 Gryffindors. He stopped in front of them and looked them both in the eyes for a long time. 

"Okay," he said simply and then surprised them by hugging them both. Then he sauntered back to Draco and climbed back into his lap. Draco smiled. That was typically Harry.

Another knock at the door brought them out of the uncomfortable silence. Draco quickly opened the door to Pansy and Blaise. When Pansy spotted the 2 Gryffindors, she huffed and glared dangerously at them.

"Coming back to try again?" she sneered at them. Hermione sighed and looked her in the eye.

"No, we apologized. We really shouldn't have done that. Draco can take care of him just fine. Just took us a bit long to see that. When you went off to us like that…well it was pretty scary but it also showed that not all Slytherins are bad. You cared enough for Harry to defend him. I want to thank you for that. And I also hope you will accept our apology and maybe, our friendship?" Hermione held out her hand to her.

To say that Pansy was shocked, was a bit of an understatement. She stared at the hand for the longest of time but Hermione did not pull back. Eventually she took the hand.

Draco smiled and went over to Blaise.

"I see that you are out of the Infirmary." He glared at him. Blaise had de decency to blush.

"Yeah. I really am sorry for flying of the handle to Harry," he apologized to Draco. The blonde nodded.

"It not really me you should apologize to, it's Harry," he hinted. Blaise took a deep breath and turned to Harry. He only flinched slightly.

"I'm sorry Harry. I won't get mad again." Harry nodded and buried his face in Draco's shoulder.

"Alright. Time for some drinks. Sit down everyone." Draco motioned over to the couch and they all sat down, Harry in Draco's lap.

"We really need to sort out our differences. I have a feeling that when this little boy is going back, it's not over by a long shot." Draco sighed while softly stroking through Harry's hair. The little boy was getting drowsy.

"I've got that feeling too. I'm done with the fights. We've all been fighting for years and look where it got us; no where," Hermione sighed sadly.

"Yeah, I agree. Why not try to be friends? Start over?" Pansy suggested.

"I'm all for it." Blaise said solemnly. Ron nodded.

"It's about time. He never told me but Harry wants this too,"

"Then lets try to be friends, if not for us then for Harry's sake," Draco said firmly. They all nodded.

The rest of the day they spend talking to each other and playing games. Harry was not afraid of Hermione, Blaise and Ron anymore and they decided to all go swimming. It really was a success.

The week flew by and it was Harry's last day with them. They all tried to be happy but inside they felt sad. They really came to love the bright boy and now he had to go back to that horrid place. Hermione and Ron said goodbye to Harry at dinner. Pansy and Blaise walked Draco and Harry to Draco's room and said goodbye to him there.

Draco didn't want Harry to leave but he couldn't stop it. Harry was sad too.

"Bye Bye Draco." Harry kissed Draco's cheek and handed him something furry. It was the little stuffed lion Draco had conjured for Harry. Draco smiled sadly.

"Bye angel. I promise you, it will get better. Be strong and you'll make it through." Draco hugged Harry closely and then reluctantly let him go.

Harry waved sadly at Draco as he faded out slowly, till he was gone. Draco suddenly felt cold and ran to his bedroom. He crawled under the covers and drew his knees to his chest.

He fell asleep, clutching the little lion to his chest as if his life depended on it.


	7. Chapter 7

A week past and Draco sat in his DADA class. He wasn't really paying attention and was thinking of Harry. After 4 year old Harry had left and Draco was done with the emotional rollercoaster, he went to visit Harry in the Infirmary. He had been sitting at his side for hours, listening to Harry's breathing and watching his chest go up and down. Then he got kicked out by madam Pomfrey and went straight to bed.

Now in DADA he couldn't help but think back and he got sad again. He still couldn't fully grasp the torture Harry went through. He swore to himself that when he would wake up, he would try to be friends to Harry.

Suddenly Draco felt a strong urge to go to his room. As Draco walked through the door, he heard a loud bang. In the living room, Harry stood again. He looked a bit older however, and more frightened then ever. Harry dropped to the floor and curled up into a little ball. Draco closed the distance and sat down next to him. Harry flinched violently and Draco hadn't even touched him.

"Harry? Are you okay? How old are you?" he went to touch his shoulder but Harry was already up and running through the bedroom door. Draco swore and quickly followed him. He looked around but couldn't spot the little boy. He checked the wardrobe, he wasn't there. Then he spotted some movement under the bed. He crouched down and there Harry was.

"I won't hurt you. Can you please come out?" Draco pleaded. The boy only retreated more into the dark and Draco got frustrated. He stood up again and sat down on the couch.

'How am I going to get him out of there?' he pondered. He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a tapping sound. Harry's owl was sitting on the window seal. He opened the window and the bird flew in, dropped a little note on the couch and flew out again.

Draco quickly closed the window again and picked the note up.

_Draco_

I'm 7 years old now and I'm not talking. Why? That's what the memory in the Pensieve is about. I replaced it so take a look. And don't tell anyone! I'll be going back when you can get me to talk. In this period of my life, I'm very skittish, so don't do anything sudden. Good luck!

Harry

'Glad to have some information,' Draco thought and went to the bedroom again. He crawled under the bed. Harry backed away till his back was against the wall. Draco didn't come any closer. He heard Harry whimpering. 

"Please angel, I'm not going to hurt you!" Draco pleaded. Harry still wouldn't listen and stayed where he was. Draco sighed. He really had no choice. He took out his wand and Levitated the boy from under the bed.

Harry screamed and kicked but he could not free himself.

"I just want to help! I won't hurt you, please calm down, or you'll hurt yourself!" Draco pleaded and Harry calmed down enough for Draco to lift the spell. Harry sat down and drew his knees to his chest.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you. Do you want something to drink?" Draco asked softly. Harry looked terrified but nodded. He stood up shakily and looked at Draco with tears in his eyes. Because Harry was wearing a T-shirt, the bruises on his arms were clearly visible. Draco looked at him more closely. Small cuts littered the young boy's face.

"Let's go sit on the couch," Draco suggested and grabbed the jar of Healing Salve on his way to the living room. Draco poured Harry some Pumpkin Juice and handed it to him. The little boy took it and with shaking hands, he sipped at it.

"Listen, I have a salve for those cuts and bruises. It's really good and it doesn't hurt. Do you want me to help you or do you think you can do it yourself?" Draco held up the jar and Harry looked at it closely. Then carefully, he took the jar and unscrewed the cap. He dipped in his fingertips and started to apply it on the cuts and bruises. Because of the clinical manner he did this, Draco suspected that Harry had to do this numerous times and it made the blonde's blood boil.

Harry gave Draco the jar back and looked at the floor.

"You got everything?" Draco asked softly. Harry nodded. The little boy curled up and laid down on the couch. In no time at all, he was fast asleep. Draco smiled and went to get a blanket. He carefully tucked it around the boy.

"Goodnight Harry," he sighed and watched him for a while. Even in his sleep, he looked far to tense and on guard. That was not normal behaviour for a 7 year old. Or any child for that matter. Draco took a deep breath to calm the fury that was threatening to surface again. Then he called for Dobby.

"What can Dobby do for Master Draco sir?" the elf squeaked.

"Can you get Ron, Hermione, Pansy and Blaise for me please?" he asked and the elf disappeared. Draco place a Sound Repellent Spell on Harry when the first knock sounded through the air. Pansy and Blaise were the first ones to arrive. They gasped when they saw Harry on the couch.

"Is he back?" Pansy asked.

"Who's back?" Ron and Hermione walked in and Draco closed the door. They too were shocked to see Harry on the couch.

"He's sort of back, only now he's 7 and not talking," Draco explained.

"Why is he not talking?" Blaise asked. Draco glared at him.

"I don't know but if I did, I wouldn't tell you anyway," he sneered. Blaise held up his hands in defence.

"Alright! I get it! Jeez!" Draco sighed.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking care of another Harry again."

"As long as you'll let us know when you need help," Hermione told him firmly. With one last glance, the quartet left again and Draco went to bed.

Later that night, Draco awoke to a loud bang in the bathroom. He quickly got out of bed to check it out.

Harry was sitting on the floor, his shirt off and with the jar of Healing Salve in his hand. His whole chest was one big bruise. Harry looked at him, completely terrified and he tried to get as far away from Draco as possible.

"Please don't be afraid of me Harry, I won't hurt you. I'm not mad at you, I just wish you would've told me sooner," Draco said softly.

Harry was now backed up against the wall and shaking. Draco picked up the jar and slowly, as not to startle the boy, made his way over to Harry. He sat down nest to him and handed him the jar. Harry eyed him suspiciously, not believing he wouldn't get punished.

"I want to help you angel, not hurt you." Harry took the jar and started to apply the salve to his chest. When he was done, Draco could see him hesitating.

Little Harry sighed, hung his head and handed Draco the jar. Then he turned his back on him. Here too, bruises were decorating the young boy's skin.

"Do you want me to do your back?" Draco whispered. Harry nodded, still looking at the ground. He only flinched when Draco first touched his back. As soon as Draco was done, Harry pulled his shirt back on. That's when Draco saw the tears. He gently wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him in his lap. First, Harry struggled but when he saw that Draco wouldn't do any harm, he relaxed and cried in the blonde's shoulder.

"It's okay angel, it'll be alright, I promise," Draco soothed, fighting his own tears.


	8. Chapter 8

After 2 weeks of complete silence, Draco finally managed to gain Harry's trust a little. He had asked the boy what he would like to do. After the first day of trying to take Harry with him to classes, he decided to leave Harry in the care of the school house elves.

_Flashback (sort of)_

"Come on Harry, time to get up, we have school." Draco gently nudged the boy on the couch and he whimpered a bit. Finally Harry got off the couch and got dressed. Together they walked to the Hall to eat breakfast. This was a very wrong thing to do, because Harry panicked at seeing so many people and he fled before Draco could catch him.

Hermione, Ron, Pansy, Blaise and Draco needed 30 minutes to find him again, under a tree by the Lake. Draco had to carry him to class because Harry refused to walk.

"Please Harry, we can't stay in my room all day!" Draco pleaded with him. Harry then, although reluctantly, went with him and they had some breakfast.

Then there was the issue of getting Harry into the classrooms with so many people. He only wanted to sit in the back, close to the door and Draco wasn't allowed to leave. So that didn't work either.

End Flashback

After that horrid day, Harry stayed in his rooms with a few house elves watching him. Harry only went out of the room during breakfast, lunch and dinner and that also took a long time of Draco convincing him it was alright. Yesterday, Draco had asked what he would like to do. He hadn't gotten an answer of course. But just when Draco decided to go to bed, Harry had handed him a note. On that note there was only one word; Books.

"You like to read?" Draco had asked and Harry had only smiled and nodded. So this is how Draco found himself in the Library, searching for a book for Harry. Finally he found one.

_All Age Defences_

"Harry? Where are you?" Draco called. Harry stepped into his view from the bathroom. He smiled at Draco and waved.

"Hello to you too. I've got you something. You like reading right?" Harry nodded and looked at Draco curiously.

"Well I went to the Library today and guess what? I've found a perfect book for you. It explains about defensive magic and it's easy to read. I think you'll like it." Draco took a book out of his bag and gave it to Harry. The boy looked it over and opened it. While reading it, he walked over to the couch and sat down.

Draco smiled. He really could be Hermione the second with the way he was devouring that book.

The blonde watched his charge for a little while and then decided to do some reading of his own. He took out Jane Austin's Sense and Sensibility and started to read where he had left off.

When it was time for lunch, Draco had a hard time dragging Harry away from his book.

"We are just going to eat lunch. You can go back to your book later!" Draco tried but Harry acted as if he didn't hear him. Draco took the book out of Harry's hands and levitated it high up in the air. Harry looked at the book longingly but sighed. He stood up and walked towards the door. There he waited for Draco.

Lunch again was a very silent affair and Harry was back to his book in no time.

'Is it even healthy to like books so much?' Draco thought. He suddenly thought about the memory in the Pensieve. He took the little bowl out of his nightstand. Draco took a deep breath and stepped into the memory.

_"Let's get Freak Boy!!" was the first thing Draco heard when he stepped onto a playground of some sorts. He spotted 7 year old Harry, running for his life, while being chased by 4 boys. One was a big as a baby whale. Harry was faster however. _

It didn't last long and the four boys cornered Harry. The big whale punched the little boy and he fell to the ground.

"No Dudley, please, stop!!" Harry screamed and Draco ran towards him. He wanted to help Harry so badly, teach those bullies a lesson, but he couldn't. He had to watch as Harry was used as a punching bag.

"You have to learn a lesson Freak!! It was not nice to tell Ms. Brandson that I hit Jamie. Now you have to pay the price for being a tattletale!" the Dudley boy punched Harry another few times before stepping back.

"You'll learn to not say a word!!" Dudley walked away and the rest of his friends continued to hit Harry. Draco screamed.

"No more!! I want out, I've seen enough!!" he cried and moments later he found himself on his bed, the sheets soaked with sweat. 

He quickly rolled over and vomited on the floor.

When he looked up he saw Harry standing there, holding a washcloth. He gratefully took it.

"Thank you," he breathed and cleaned the mess up. Harry nodded and went back to reading his book. Draco noticed that, although he had given Harry the book to read this morning, he already was almost at the end of it.

He walked over to the boy and sat down opposite him.

"You can read fast. Do you like the book?" he asked. Harry looked at him and nodded, before returning to his book again. Draco sighed and went to do his homework. There was nothing he could do for Harry at the moment. At least, not that he knew of.

After Draco had finished his homework, he went to check up on Harry. The little boy was asleep on the couch with the book open on his lap. Draco looked at the pages.

'How to protect yourself from your own blood,' Draco read. He sighed. Of course Harry would be interested in that. He would do anything for just a normal life in a normal family. He took the book and placed a marker at the place Harry was and closed it. He put it away and gently tucked the blanket that was on the couch, over him.

"Goodnight angel," he whispered and after a kiss on the little forehead, Draco went to bed himself.


	9. Chapter 9

He needed to get Harry to talk, Draco decided. It had been 3 weeks now, without him saying a word and nightmares every night. So Draco had a plan and Ron, Hermione, Pansy and Blaise covered for him.

He took Harry for a walk to the 7th floor and got him in the Room of Requirement. The little boy looked at him questioningly.

"It's time to talk Harry. I know why you don't talk. It's you cousin Dudley and his friends right?" Draco told him. He could see the fear in Harry's eyes and the little boy tried to escape.

He tried the door but it disappeared, he pounded on the walls and the floor, ran around like crazy, trying to get out, all the while chanting; "no no no no no no no no!" When he began to pull on his hair, Draco grabbed the little hands in his and crouched down to eye level with Harry.

"Stop that, please! You can't get out until you talk. This is a very special room and we can stay here for weeks. I didn't mean to scare you an I certainly don't want to hurt you, but you need to talk about what happened, Harry." Harry pulled his hands out of Draco's and glared at him. He stalked over to the farthest corner of the room, sat down, arms crossed and proceeded to sulk.

"Fine, if you want to play it that way, I've got the time," Draco said casually and took out a book and started to read.

It took 4 hours for Harry to crawl out of his corner and to start investigating his surroundings. Draco watched him from the corner of his eye with a smile. He had made sure that there were books in the Room and soon Harry had found them.

They continued like that for 4 days. Reading, eating and sleeping, all in silence. Draco tried several times to get Harry to talk but he always refused.

"Want to play a game?" Draco asked, holding up 'Memory.' To be honest; it was one of the few muggle games, Draco knew how to play. Harry nodded and they sat down at the table, laying out the cards.

Halfway through the game, Harry finally started to talk.

"They never let me play games. Or play at all. I always have to do chores, while they do nothing. It's not fair," Harry whispered, a bit hoarse. Draco was shocked. Not only did he finally get Harry to talk, but also because of the information Harry gave him. Draco knew about it, considering how his cousin had beaten the little boy to pulp but he really thought that somehow it had improved for him.

"It isn't. Just like it isn't fair to be beaten," Draco said, watching Harry closely. The little boy looked down.

"I deserve it!" he said harshly.

"No, no you _don't!_ What they do Harry, is _wrong_ and _not_ your fault!" Draco told him firmly.

"I shouldn't have told on Dudley. He was right to punish me." Harry still tried to justify his family's actions towards him.

"Not like that! _Never_ like that! Yes, it would have been better if you haven't told on him, but his reaction was _wrong!_" Draco looked Harry in the eye and saw tears in the young boy's eyes.

"Hey, come here, it's alright. I'm glad you're talking again." Draco had gathered him in his arms and continued to sooth him until he fell asleep.

Draco stood up and picked his young charge up as well. He carried Harry out of the Room and walked to his own room.

As expected, Ron, Hermione, Pansy and Blaise were waiting for them.

"He finally talked?" Hermione asked hopefully. Draco nodded and gently laid the boy down on the couch. He placed a Silencing Charm around them so Harry wouldn't be disturbed.

"Now what?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know. The note said, that when I got him to talk, he would go back. I don't want him to go back." Draco sighed sadly, stroking through Harry's raven coloured hair. Pansy smiled softly.

"You love him, don't you?" she whispered.

"Who wouldn't love this little guy. He's so young and he's been through so much already," Draco whispered.

"Well yeah, but that is not what I meant…" she was cut of by Hermione.

"You love 17 year old Harry!" Draco blushed. Ron and Blaise, of course, didn't get it.

"Why did he terrorize him for all these years then?" Ron asked, confused. Pansy and Hermione rolled their eyes.

"Because Draco wanted his attention you idiots!" they said in unison.

"I'm in the room you know, but please, don't mind me!" Draco said sarcastically.

"You're right, I've loved him since 5th year and it's only getting stronger." Draco sighed and didn't look at his friends.

"As long as you don't hurt him again, it's fine by me. But if you do, you'll wish that you were never even conceived," Ron threatened innocently. Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, I agree with him. You hurt him and you will find some parts of your anatomy missing," she added to the threat. Draco swallowed nervously. Be honest; they sounded pretty scary!

"Thanks, I promise not to hurt him, I rather die then to hurt him anymore then I've already done," Draco promised them solemnly. Blaise huffed.

"It's not one sided you know! Same goes for Harry too!" Blaise stood up for his friend.

"It's only fair," Pansy said, agreeing.

"Harry would never hurt anybody! He's not even capable of doing that!" Ron sneered. Draco snorted.

"He's perfectly capable of doing that, I have you know!" he said, indignant.

"How has he ever hurt you then?" Hermione demanded.

"1st year, he refused my friendship. That did hurt me you know!"

"You were an arse! No wonder he blew you off!" Ron pointed out.

"Right…" Draco didn't know what else to say anymore.

"Guess I always gave him a reason to hurt me," Draco realized.

"You always started the fights. He was merely defending himself." Ron glared at him.

"Or us," Hermione whispered.

"I'm really sorry guys," Draco apologized. Ron clapped him on the back.

"As long as you don't do it again." He and Hermione left.

"You know, you really have turned into a softie Draco," Pansy smirked.

"For Harry, it's worth it," he sighed. Blaise snorted.

"You really got it good Dray, you're a lost cause!" he laughed.

"Shut it Blaise!" he snapped but had to fight the smile that wanted to surface. Pansy and Blaise were still laughing when Draco kicked them out.

Next day, Harry was gone. Draco was sad until he found a note on the couch.

_Thank you for taking care of me and showing me that not everyone is bad._

_Harry_


	10. Chapter 10

**WARNING: Graphic Rape!**

For over the last month, ever since 7 year old Harry went back, Draco spend every spare minute of his time in the Hospital Wing. He would read to Harry, or just talk to him and watch him. During that time, Draco could sense something about Harry, something magical. He just couldn't place it and filed it away for later.

Just when Draco walked back to his room after visiting Harry, something crashed into him. Or rather, someone. Draco looked down, right into frightened green eyes. Harry was back. He was still scrawny and small but at least there were no visible bruises. It probably was getting better for Harry, Draco mused. The boy, who had fallen to the floor, scrambled to his feet.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled and tried to ran away again, but Draco grabbed him. Harry flinched violently.

"Please, don't touch me! I said I was sorry, please let me go!" Harry begged, trying to pull out of Draco's grasp.

"It's okay Harry, I won't hurt you! If I let go, will you at least stay here? You're safe, I promise," Draco said and Harry nodded. The blonde let the boy go and Harry didn't run. Though Draco could see that he wanted to.

"Thank you. Now what are you running from?" Draco asked friendly. He saw Harry shake.

"I don't want to tell," Harry whispered and Draco felt for him.

"Fair enough. How old are you?"

"I'm 9, who are you?" Harry was visibly scared and Draco wondered if it would be a permanent expression on Harry.

"I'm Draco and this is where I go to school. Do you want something to eat, breakfast is about to start." Harry nodded.

"Alight, let's go then." Luckily it was still early so not many students were in the Hall yet. They sat down and Draco started to load his plate. When he saw that Harry didn't take anything, he did the same for him as well, making sure that Harry ate it all. After breakfast, they went to Draco's room. Hedwig was waiting on his desk with the usual note. Draco took it.

_Draco,_

Don't have much to tell you, except that I'm 9 years old and that the memory is replaced with a new one.

Harry

"Is that an owl?" Harry asked, studying Hedwig. She nipped softly at his fingers, causing the boy to giggle.

"Yes, her name is Hedwig. Do you like her?" Draco asked. Harry nodded.

"I've seen pictures of them in my Biology book but never a real one," he said, petting the snowy owl.

"You know, I have a book with all kinds of creatures in it. Would you like to read it?" Harry nodded eagerly and Draco went to search for his book of Care of Magical Creatures. He picked the first one, not wanting to scare Harry with fearsome beasts. Harry's eyes lit up when Draco handed him the book. Draco himself went over to his desk and wrote 4 letters to Pansy, Blaise, Ron and Hermione, informing them of what had happened. He sent them of with Hedwig. Draco looked over at Harry, who was reading the book on the couch and he decided to get some homework done.

After he was done, he checked up on Harry and saw that the little boy had fallen asleep. It wasn't even noon yet!

'He must have been really tired then,' Draco thought and tucked him in with a blanket. He went to take a shower but when he came back, Harry was gone!

'He can't have gone back already! He just arrived and I didn't look into the Pensieve either!' Draco thought and went looking for him. He checked the dungeons and the Great Hall. Then he went to the Infirmary but he wasn't there either. Draco was about to panic when someone called his name.

"Draco!" He turned around and saw Hermione carrying a crying and struggling Harry. He ran over to them and Hermione put Harry down.

"Harry? Why did you run away angel? You're safe here," Draco asked and Harry started to shake.

"I don't know Draco but to me it seemed like he was sleepwalking or something," Hermione explained. Draco crouched down and took the boy into his arms. Harry stiffened and didn't relax. The shaking got worse too. Draco and Hermione exchanged looks that could only be interpreted as; 'this is not normal.'

'What happened to you Harry? You don't have any bruises that I can see, so what's going on?' Draco thought to himself and let Harry go. He took the small hand in his, thanked Hermione and walked back to his rooms.

In his room, Draco gave Harry his book and locked the door so he couldn't get out again. Then he took the small Pensieve and fell into the memory.

_Harry was on the playground swing. Draco could see he had been crying and he had a black eye again. Then a big, fat man, with a big moustache came and dragged Harry off the swing._

"Running away again are you?! I'll show you boy!" the big man yelled and Harry was thrown inside.

"First you destroy Dudders Gameboy and then you run off. You need a lesson!" The man pushed Harry on the couch and in one motion his pants were off. Harry was screaming and crying.

"Stop uncle Vernon please, I didn't destroy it! I don't know how it happened, please, stop!!" Harry pleaded. But Vernon wouldn't listen and pulled his own pants down as well. With one hand, the Vernon guy turned Harry on his stomach and thrusted himself into the small boy underneath him.

Harry screamed and yelled, trying to get away from the unbearable pain. Draco felt sick and wanted to get out, not being able to see it anymore. He was stuck however and was forced to watch as Vernon came and left Harry on the couch, bloody and dirty.

"Clean up and make dinner!" Vernon sneered, while buckling his pants and left the room. 

Draco fell back into his room and was just in time to make it to the bathroom and empty his stomach. His blood was boiling and tears stained his face. When he was feeling a bit less queasy, he cleaned his mouth and went to Harry, who was still reading the book with wide eyes. He smiled when he spotted Draco.

"Do these animals really exist?" he asked exited. Draco smiled and nodded.

"Yes they do. You like them?"

"Very much! Are they dangerous?" The small boy was very interested.

"Some are. They are like people; some are bad but most are good. Do you know any bad people?" Draco really wanted to talk to Harry about what happened and thought that this was a good place to start. Harry however shook his head. No, he didn't know any bad people.

"Are you sure? What about your uncle? Or your aunt or your cousin?"

"They are not bad," Harry answered in a tiny voice and looked down. Draco couldn't believe it! Didn't he discussed this with 7 year old Harry already!?

"Harry, I know that they beat you, make you do too heavy chores, lock you up and neglect you. I also know what your uncle did to you. It's called rape and it's wrong!" Draco explained. Harry started to shake and shook his head.

"No, uncle Vernon had to do that, I deserved it," Harry said, more to himself then to Draco. The blonde took Harry's hands in his. Harry flinched and tried to pull away but Draco held on.

"Look at yourself Harry! I just took your hands and you already are scared. That's not right, but it's not your fault. What your family is doing to you, is wrong!" Draco let Harry go and sat back, watching as Harry turned into himself. Afraid that this Harry would fall into the same coma as 17 year old Harry, he gently shook him. Harry didn't respond for a while but he finally snapped out of it. He started to cry and he crawled over to Draco.

"I'm sorry," the small boy whispered and Draco took his in his arms. Harry flinched again but seemed to relax slowly.

"You don't have to apologize to me angel. I just don't like to see you hurt. And your family is hurting you. But it will get better, I promise, just hold on. Would you do that for me angel?" Draco asked, holding the boy close. Harry nodded and tentatively rested his head on the blondes' shoulder. Draco smiled, leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the lightning bolt scar.

"You're a very special boy Harry, don't forget that," Draco whispered.

"Can I read now Draco?" Harry asked carefully. Draco laughed and summoned the book. Together they read the book. Harry asking questions and Draco answering them. Well trying to anyway. Draco wasn't exactly an expert in that area. Then suddenly, Harry was slowly becoming transparent.

"I don't want to go," Harry said and held onto Draco.

"You have to Harry. But you'll be fine, I promise." Draco carefully pried Harry's hands loose. 

"Then come with me," Harry pleaded. Draco's heart clenched at the desperate plea and he had a hard time keeping his tear at bay.

"I wish I could Harry, but I can't. Don't worry, you'll see me again," Draco said and Harry was almost gone now.

"Okay. Thank you, for helping me. Bye," Harry said in a tiny voice and waved sadly to Draco.

"Bye angel," Draco whispered and Harry disappeared. Draco sighed and got up to take a walk outside. Halfway on trip, however, he changed his mind and went to the Infirmary instead. He sat down in the chair next to Harry's bed and took his hand. He pressed a kiss to it. Again he felt something around Harry. Draco thought about it and came to a shocking conclusion.

"You're wearing a glamour, aren't you?!" he whispered and took it off with a simple Finite. Harry immediately got thinner and his skin really pale. Draco could sense another glamour but he wasn't able to take it off.

"Oh Harry, what did they do to you baby? Why didn't I see it before?" Draco whispered brokenly. He rested his blonde head on the bed and silently sobbed, feeling overwhelmed with guilt of making Harry's life even more hellish over the years.


	11. Chapter 11

"Come on Draco, we're going to be late!" Blaise yelled through the door. Draco sighed, got his bag and walked with Blaise to Transfiguration. 3 days of misery had past since he found out about Harry's glamours. He had wallowed in guilt ever since and couldn't, wouldn't forgive himself for the extra problems he had caused for the raven haired teen.

"What's wrong with you?" Blaise asked a morose looking Draco.

"Nothing. I just had a rather unpleasant realisation," he sighed.

"What kind of realisation?" Blaise asked curiously, earning him a glare.

"Something about Harry then," Blaise stated and dropped the issue. Draco was very grateful for they and they sat down in their seats. Not even 10 minutes since the start of class, the door opened and the Headmaster stepped inside.

"Mr Malfoy, could I speak to you for a moment?" Dumbledore asked and Draco followed him. As soon as they rounded the corner, a pair of shocked, green eyes were staring back at him.

"Malfoy?!" Harry said incredulously.

"Harry. Nice to see you," Draco said calmly, causing Harry to be shocked even more.

"Harry, you'll be going with Mr Malfoy to his room. I'm sure he'll explain everything. Good day!" Dumbledore said and went back to his office, leaving the 2 enemies together.

"Let's go," Draco said and started walking. When he noticed Harry wasn't following him, he stopped and walked back.

"Harry, are you coming?" Draco asked. Harry looked at him.

"I don't trust you, why should I go with you?" Harry asked sceptically. Draco sighed.

"You're right, but I won't do anything, I promise. I just want to explain why this is happening, " Draco tried but it wasn't quite working. Harry was still not going with him. The blonde then took out his wand and gave it to Harry.

"Take that. Can we go now?" Draco said, being a little frustrated. Harry still looked sceptical but took the wand and followed him. When they got to the room, Draco put his things away and got 2 butterbeers. Harry eyed it warily when he was given one.

"Oh for goodness sake! It's not poisoned!" Draco exclaimed. Harry took a careful sip.

"So, what's going on?" Harry asked. Draco looked at him for a while.

"How old are you?" Draco started.

"Eleven, why?" Harry asked, still not getting the fact that Draco was much taller then him. Taller then eleven year old Draco had ever been.

"I'm 17. Which means you're in the future," Draco said.

"Or you're in the past," Harry pointed out.

"No I'm not, I'm 100 sure of that. You see, 17 year old you is in a coma. The thing is that past-Harry's are now appearing on my doorstep. You are the 4th actually. I don't mind since I was the one who put you in a coma in the first place," Draco explained. Harry groaned.

"We are still fighting?! It's not even been a year but I'm already sick of it. Anyway, not a big surprise then that you are the one to put me in a coma," Harry said, glaring at Draco.

"I know. I really am sorry for giving you hell all those years. You were already having a hard time and I made it worse," Draco apologized. Harry could see he was sincere and wondered what it was that had the blonde realize his mistakes. Then he thought of something and went pale.

"You said I'd been here before…at what age?" he asked nervously.

"At age 4, 7 and 9. and now 11," Draco summed and watched as Harry got even more pale.

"Are you alright? Maybe you should sit down." Draco carefully pushed Harry to sit on the couch.

"4, 7 and 9…aunt Petunia's beating, Dudley and his gang at 7 and…and…," Harry trailed of in shock.

"And the rape at 9. I know all about it Harry. I had to see it too. It made me realize you are not the person who I thought you were." Draco said sincerely.

"How do you know all of this?" Harry asked shakily.

"Because every time a new Harry arrives, a new memory in a Pensieve follows him as well. I saw everything."

"Oh God!" Harry groaned and didn't look at Draco. The blond caught up on it and sat down next to him.

"I never told anyone what was shown to me. Not even Ron and Hermione," Harry head shot up.

"You called them by their names!" he sad shocked. Draco smiled.

"We decided that fighting wasn't getting us anywhere, so we simply stopped. We're not the best of friends but we don't fight anymore. You made it all possible you know. You are kind of special." Draco laughed at Harry's horrified expression.

"I'm glad that you made up but I'm not special!" Harry protested. Draco smiled.

"Well, you are now. I know you don't like it but at least you're good at dealing with it. Listen, tomorrow is a Hogsmeade weekend. What do you say we have a bit of fun there?" Draco suggested. Harry looked confused.

"Hogsmeade? What's that?" he asked. 

"It's a little town, the only one that's all magical, no Muggles. There are nice shops like Zonko's. I think you'll like it there," Draco explained patiently.

"Okay, sounds nice," Harry smiled.

"Good, now I don't know what to do so, wanna play a game or something?" Draco asked. 

"Sure, what do you have?" Draco showed him some games, both Muggle and Wizarding games. Harry picked Monopoly and spend the next half hour explaining the game to Draco. They played for hours and finally called it quits, 3 hours later. They had just cleaned away the game when there was a knock on the door.

"Draco, where did you go?" Pansy asked worriedly, while pushing Draco aside to let the rest of the quartet in. Draco smiled at the expressions of the four when they saw Harry.

"Harry! Hi," Hermione said when she came to her senses. Harry smiled shyly.

"Hi Hermione," he said and was ambushed immediately by both her and Ron, hugging the life out of him. Blaise and Pansy pulled them off of him.

"Gods! Give the guy a brake will ya!" Blaise smirked.

"So that's why you were called away, another Harry," Pansy said. Draco nodded.

"Draco explained it all. It was kind of a shock to find out that you all made up but I'm glad. I'm already tired of fighting and it's just my first year here…uhm…there…you know what I mean!" Harry said and they all laughed.

The quartet left again and Draco and Harry were getting ready for bed. They had a bit of a fight about were they would sleep but eventually Draco ended up on the couch and Harry in the bed. (Draco's idea) The next day they got up early and had Dobby bringing them breakfast.

"How are we going to get there?" Harry asked as they put on their cloaks. (Draco had Transfigured one of his to fit Harry.)

"It's not that far so we'll walk. Are you ready?" Draco asked. Harry nodded and they made their way to Hogsmeade. Their first stop was at Honeydukes. Harry's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of that much candy. Draco bought them a big bag of Chocoballs, which they ate on their journey through Hogsmeade.

Zonko's Joke Shop was next and they spend the next half hour laughing their heads off at some poor guy who couldn't stop hiccupping after stealing some sweets that turned out to be Hiccup Sweets. (of course)

They had lunch at The Tree Broomsticks and chatted about what they had seen so far. Harry had heard something about a scary shack that was supposed to be haunted, that he wanted to see. Draco said they would save that for last and went to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop after lunch because Draco needed new quills and parchment.

As promised, they went to the Shrieking Shack. Draco was a little frightened and thought back at third year when Harry's head was suddenly floating in the air. He still didn't know how that happened but this place was giving him the creeps. Harry didn't seem bothered, he loved the place.

"It looks peaceful actually, not scary. I bet that I could sit here all day, not doing a thing, just thinking," he told Draco dreamily. Draco had smiled but was glad when Harry said he wanted to go home.

When they finally made it back, just before dinner, Harry was very tired and decided to lie down for a bit after a quick dinner. Draco took out the Pensieve, wanting to know what the new memory could be. When he fell inside the tiny bowl, he could only see black.


	12. Chapter 12

_Draco was looking around but all he could see was still only black. He wondered if something went wrong and tried to get out. He found he couldn't._

'Great! Now what?' he thought. Suddenly a chair appeared and a big screen popped up in front of him. Draco thought it looked similar to something the Muggles called a Movie Theatre.

"Hi Draco, glad you could make it," suddenly sounded through the room and Draco immediately recognized Harry's voice.

"Harry?" he carefully asked.

"Yeah, it's me. I bet you are wondering what the hell is going on?" he asked. Draco nodded.

"You're quite right. I also want to know when you are going to wake up. I'm really sorry for doing all of that to you. And I'm also sorry for treating you like scum all these years," Draco apologized sincerely.

"I know you're sorry. And I've already forgiven you long ago," Harry answered.

"Then why are you showing me all of this? Why aren't you waking up?" Draco practically pleaded. He heard Harry sigh.

"I can't wake up before I've shown you everything. I can tell you it's not going to take much longer. As for me wanting to show you these things? I'm usually not a talker. I drive Ron and Hermione nuts by not telling them things that bother me. I'm used to not having anyone to talk to so now I'm afraid. It's easier like this. I want you to get to know me," Harry explained and Draco was stunned.

"Why?" was all Draco could think of.

"Because I love you Draco," was the whispered response and Draco was speechless. Suddenly, the screen was lighting up and a movie of sorts was beginning. Draco sat down in the chair, mind still reeling from Harry's heart felt confession.

"I'll show you the moment of me finding out I was a wizard," Harry's voice was back and Draco looked at the screen. He saw Harry in a…shack, of some sort. Hagrid was there as well.

"You're a wizard Harry," Hagrid said. Draco watched as Harry froze and his expression was one of disbelieve.

"A what?" the boy stuttered. It was clear that Harry didn't believe the giant. Next few minutes proved Draco's assumptions.

"I can't be a wizard. I'm Harry, just Harry!" the raven haired boy on the screen protested. 

"I didn't believe him at first. Then he started explaining things and I knew he was telling the truth. I didn't want him to be right actually, I thought that it made me even more of a freak. My relatives surely treated me that way," Harry said sadly.

"You're so called relatives should be in jail for doing that to you!" Draco said venomously.

"Nothing I can do about it now. Next is our first meeting. Do you remember that Draco?" The screen faded out and then showed Draco standing on a stool in Madam Malkins. He remembered it alright. He remembered being very intrigued by this strange boy.

"I do," Draco whispered, getting closer to the screen. He watched his behaviour towards Harry and could clearly see why Harry would turn him down.

"My God! I was a right brat! No wonder you refused my hand in first year!" he exclaimed. He heard Harry laugh and the screen showed them on the train, the moment Harry chose Ron over Draco. The blonde looked closely at Harry.

"You did_ want to take my hand!" Draco said shocked. He now could see the regret in screen-Harry's eyes as he watch the blonde's retreating back._

"Yes, I did. At that moment, you subconsciously asked me to choose between Ron and you. Ron was nice to me, we even had some similarities. You on the other hand, reminded me of my cousin and his air of arrogance. You had that too. So my decision was easy. _I chose Ron. I did know I would've chosen to be you're friend as well as Ron, if you just had asked differently," Harry said and Draco realized his mistake._

"I see that now. I'm really sorry," Draco apologized again. The screen went black, the memories were over.

"Well, at least these memories weren't bad," Draco breathed and he heard Harry laugh again.

"Why is it that I can only hear you and not see you?" Draco said, getting a bit frustrated.

"Because I chose it that way. It's just easier."

"Alright, I do have another question though; I just recently found out that you are wearing glamours. I managed to take one off but not the other. Why's that?" Draco had been dying to know that.

"The first glamour was to hide my bruises and stuff. You knew about that already and that's why I allowed you to take the glamour off. The other glamour comes off when you've guessed what could be underneath that one. I'm sorry but I must go now, I didn't have long to start with. Bye Draco, love you," Harry said and that's the last Draco heard from Harry. He sighed.

"I love you too Harry. Damn it, I love you too!" Draco whispered and let himself fall back to reality again.

Harry was still sleeping and again, Draco found himself watching him closely. He wasn't as on guard and tense anymore and that made Draco feel better. Apparently, going to school at Hogwarts, helped him to be a bit more open and to feel safer as well. Draco still felt his blood boil at the thought of the Dursley's and their behaviour towards a small boy but at least Harry was on his way to heal from their torture. Draco sighed and went to sit at his desk, starting up on his huge pile of homework.

An hour later, Harry woke up. He didn't see Draco anywhere but he could hear the faint hustle of the pages of a textbook. He found Draco behind his desk, making his homework.

"Hi, how was the memory?" Harry asked. Draco smiled at him.

"Hi. The memory… it wasn't really a memory actually, but it was really enlightening. It really put things in perspective for me. It was good," Draco said and went to sit down next to Harry.

"Didn't think there would be something horrible. Eleven is actually a good year for once…well up to now I mean, I don't know how the year is going to end," Harry said.

"And I'm not going to tell you," Draco smirked, seeing right through Harry. The raven haired teen shrugged.

"Was worth a shot," he quipped and noticed that he was becoming transparent.

"Does this mean I have to go?" the boy asked, looking at his hands. Draco nodded.

"Sadly, yes. I'll see you later I hope," Draco said and hugged the eleven year old.

"Thank you for showing me you can be nice and making up with my friends!" And with that Harry disappeared. Draco smiled softly and went back to his homework, before going to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Another week later, Draco fell onto his bed and sighed. It was a tiring day and he wanted to sleep. As he drifted off, he heard a noise in the living room. Draco got up and went to check it out.

Harry Potter was standing in his living room, staring out of the window. Draco guessed he was 13 years old now. Harry turned around and stared at Draco.

"I don't know why I'm in your room Malfoy, but I know it's for some reason. So do what you have to and let's get it over with." Harry sneered. Draco looked closer and saw something in those eyes he couldn't identify.

"Usually I get a note. Do you have one?" Draco asked nicely and he could see that Harry was shocked at his behaviour.

"How should I know?" he stammered and blushed a bit. Draco wondered why. 

"Maybe it's in one of your pockets?" Draco suggested. He walked over to a cabinet and took out 2 butter beers. He held one in front of Harry. The teen carefully took it. He kept staring at Draco.

"Who are you?" he asked. Draco smiled, which shocked Harry even more.

"A lot has happened Harry, I'm not going to explain it." Draco sighed.

Harry nodded and searched his pockets. He found a scrap of paper in his back pocket. He glanced at it but gave it to Draco.

"This what you are looking for?" Harry asked. He took a swig from his butter beer. Draco took the note and read it.

_Draco_

As you might have guessed, I'm 13 years old. I'll only stay for the day. There isn't much you can do, just talk to me and it will be alright. May I point out that whatever you say to my 13 year old self, he will not remember it when he goes back. Be honest. Memory is in the usual place, though you will find it's a bit different.

Harry

"Well I think I can manage. Listen, why don't you look around for a bit, I have to go do something. Make yourself at home." Draco left a stunned Harry in his living room and walked into his bedroom. He took out the Pensieve and waved his wand over it. He fell into the Pensieve and landed in what he guessed was Harry's dorm room.

_Harry was lying on his bed, curled up and tears staining his face. Draco's heart broke at the sight. He recognized the 13 year old Harry that he had left in his quarters. Draco felt sadness wash over him and he gasped at the pure emotion he felt._

Harry got up and grabbed the little book that was in his trunk. Draco figured it was Harry's journal. He looked over the boy's shoulder and read what was written.

It can't be! I'm sick of myself! It's really disgusting! I know; 'what is so disgusting?' I hear you ask. Well, I found out that I'm gay. I don't want to be gay, it's sick! I hope they have potions or something to cure that! I feel filthy all over now.

I found out today. I even have a sick crush on a boy! He's my enemy and I can't stand him! What is going on here? Is someone hexing me or something. I can't be gay. Uncle Vernon would kill me for sure if he would find out. Or worse. I know he's capable of doing that.__

Harry closed his journal and now Draco was the one who was crying. Harry shouldn't feel this way! It's perfectly normal to be gay. Draco's eyes followed Harry's every move and saw that the teen pulled out a small, wand sized box. He gasped when Harry took out a dagger. The blade glistened dangerously in the moonlight.

Another wave of pure emotion washed over himself. Sadness was magnified tenfold and he felt fear too. He watched in horror as Harry positioned the knife to his arm and started cutting. Draco felt a sharp stinging pain in his left arm and when he looked at it, he saw blood coming out of a deep gash. It was in the exact spot of where Harry had cut himself. Harry continued making cuts and Draco cried out in pain.

"Stop Harry!! Please, stop doing that! It hurts!!" Draco cried out but of course Harry couldn't hear him. Finally Harry decided he had enough and placed the dagger back into it's place.

'Doesn't he feel this?! It fucking hurts!' Draco thought and looked at his own arm again. All the gashes where gone. He looked over at Harry's arm but couldn't find any evidence of what just happened on his arm as well. Draco was very confused and fell back in his own room.

A confused Harry Potter was looking at Draco.

"Why are you on the floor?" he asked.

"Uh…I tripped," Draco lied.

"Right…why are you crying?" he continued.

"Because I just found out that you are gay and that you're wishing you weren't." Draco told him and watched as Harry's face changed into anger.

"How did you find out!?" he asked angrily. Draco glared back at him.

"It doesn't matter Harry, point is; it's not wrong to be gay! I'm gay, do you think _I'm_ filthy or disgusting?" Harry's eyes went wide.

"No, but I…I don't want to talk about it!" Harry said stubbornly.

"That's your choice but I have to tell you; being gay is not wrong! You can't help who you love. The only thing you can do, is love the one who has captured your heart, as much as you can!" Draco could see his point hitting home with Harry.

"I do. I love y..him already, even if he's a git." Harry sighed and kneeled down next to Draco and kissed him. It was just a prolonged peck on the lips but a kiss none the less. Draco pulled back. Harry looked hurt.

"Harry, believe me; you will get the one you want. Just not now," Draco whispered, feeling he had to explain. Harry nodded and blushed. Draco found it quite adorable. Draco could see Harry becoming a bit transparent and Harry noticed it too. The 13 year stood up.

"Okay. I guess it's time for me to go now. I'll see you around. Bye Draco." Harry waved and slowly vanished. Draco let out a deep breath. He stood up and almost ran to the Hospital Wing. There he crashed through the doors and was at Harry's side in an instant.

"You fool! Why would you do such a thing! You're gay, so what! It's not a fucking disease or something! It's normal, not sick, filthy or disgusting. I don't even blame _you_ for doing this to yourself. I swear, when I see those fucking muggles you call family, I will kill them with my bare hands!" Draco continued to rage at Harry for a while and threatening the Dursleys while he was at it. After he was done he fell into the chair next to Harry's bed and looked at him sadly. 

'Wait a minute! This must be the second glamour!' Draco thought. He tried and the glamour indeed came off. Draco couldn't see anything different until he carefully rolled up on of Harry's sleeves. Dozens of cuts marred the flesh of the teen. Some even looked like they formed words but Draco couldn't quite make them out. The blonde carefully touched some of them, then pulled the sleeve back and stood up.

"Please Harry, come back to us. I can't stand to see you like this. Tell me it will al be okay?" Draco whispered but Harry never moved. He sighed and left the Infirmary.


	14. Chapter 14

About 2 weeks later, Harry Potter appeared again.

Harry was hovering over him when Draco woke up in the morning. Draco let out a yell and fell out of bed.

"Never do that again!" He scowled at the raven-haired teen. Who was laughing at him. Draco recognized him from last year so that would mean this Harry was 16 now.

An owl was waiting for him on his desk and he went to retrieve the letter that the creature carried.

_Draco,_

This is the last time you'll see a past-me. I'm 16 years and I'll be only staying for a few minutes. This is the most important memory and I want you to really pay attention. Good luck.  
See you,

Harry.

Draco looked at the last 2 words; See you. That meant that Harry was coming back in his normal 17 year old state! Draco smiled.

Harry handed him the Pensieve without saying anything. Draco took it and sighed.

'Here goes.' He waved his wand and fell in.

_Again, he was in Harry's dorm room. Again, he was holding the dagger. Draco watched in horror as Harry positioned the dagger at his wrist and slashed it. Blood immediately bloomed out and streamed steadily down his hands and onto the floor. Harry quickly slashed the other wrist too and the blood ran faster. Draco screamed and went over to Harry but he was helpless to do anything._

"Please, someone, help!! Harry is fucking dying here! I need help here, please, hurry!" Draco screamed and yelled and bellowed but nobody came. Harry slowly sat down on his bed and lay back. He closed his eyes while the blood was heavily staining his clothes, the bed and the floor. Draco wondered idly how much blood someone had.

The door opened and revealed Neville Longbottom. Draco never was so glad to see him. He watched as Neville froze in the doorway.

"HARRY! My goodness, what have you done?" Neville whispered and quickly retrieved a box from his trunk. He muttered a spell Draco couldn't quite hear and the blood gradually stopped flowing out of the bone-deep gashes on Harry's wrists.

"You are a coward Harry! I never thought you would be the one to take the easy way out!" Neville murmured while cleaning the wounds. He took some kind of salve out of his box and applied it to Harry's wrists. Slowly the wounds began to heal but they would still leave scars. Neville took out a –what Draco recognized as- Blood Replenishing Potion and pried Harry's mouth open.

He poured the liquid into Harry's mouth and massaged his throat so Harry would swallow it. Draco had to hand it to the boy; he was very skilful in fixing Harry up. He wasn't a disaster walking around now.

After what seemed like ages, Harry woke up. Neville was at his side in an instant.

"How are you feeling Harry?" he asked concerned. Harry groaned and sat up slowly.

"I'm still alive. What do you think?" he replied sarcastically.

"I should really hex you and kill you myself right now Harry! What were you thinking, taking your own life?!" Neville was really angry this time and it scared Draco to no end. Harry refused to talk and turned his gaze to the floor.

"Why would you want to kill yourself? Oh… Is it…has it anything to do with…Sirius?" Neville asked awkwardly. Harry's head shot up and he pinned Neville with his glare.

"I deserve to die for what I did to him! I killed him Nev, I fucking KILLED HIM!!!" Harry yelled. Neville did not jump back however, and sat down next to Harry.

"That was not your fault Harry!! It was all Voldemort!" he said firmly. Harry looked at him incredulously.

"Just like it's not my fault that Cedric died? Or all the other innocent people that had to die because I still haven't defeated Voldemort?!!" Harry snarled. Draco really couldn't believe Harry was thinking like that! Neville gave him an angry look and slapped him hard across the face. Harry looked at him with a hurt look in his eyes.

"Sorry, but you were getting ridiculous! It is not your fault!! Are you sure there is nothing else?" Neville asked. Harry glared at him.

"You seem to have all the answers, why don't you tell me?"

"Okay. Did you know that you've been staring at Malfoy a lot? Without hate in your eyes, I might add. Harry, don't take offence but; are you gay?" he asked carefully. Harry looked past Neville with a disgusted expression on his face.

"Sadly yes. I've been trying to find some info on how to get rid of it but I'm not successful in it so far. So this was my next and last option. Guess it didn't work." Neville was shocked.

"Why would you want to get rid of that?! It's perfectly normal…"

"It disgusting! I feel filthy all over and it's just plain sick!" Harry said viciously. Neville's eyes narrowed and he looked at Harry with a cold expression.

"Do you think I'm disgusting, filthy and sick?"

"No of course not…wait…are you gay Nev?" Harry asked incredulously. Neville nodded.

"Yes I am. I've got a boyfriend even." Neville said dreamily. Harry was shocked to say the least. 

"Who?"

"Theodore Nott, Slytherin." 

"WHAT!! Why don't I know this?!" Harry demanded and Draco was wondering how he could have missed that little fact.

"Because I haven't told anyone yet. We agreed to keep it a secret because of his family being Death Eaters and stuff. He isn't one however. So I'm guessing you're crushing on Malfoy?" Harry turned sad again and laid down on his bed. He curled up into a little ball.

"It's ridiculous. I don't stand a chance, he hates me." Harry choked up. Neville sighed and laid down next to him. He gently wrapped his arms around Harry and just held him.

"It's all going to be alright Harry. If you want to talk, I'm here. Just don't do anything stupid like that again okay?" Harry nodded. They both fell asleep.

Draco smiled and stepped out of the memory. Harry was still in his room. 

"So, I guess this is goodbye then. Hurry to the infirmary, he'll wake up soon." Harry whispered and disappeared. Draco quickly went to the Hospital Wing and sat down on Harry's bed.

"I can't believe you tried to kill yourself! Don't ever do that again Harry, please! I need you. I love you Harry! I don't want to lose you," Draco sobbed and curled up next to Harry. He cried himself to sleep.

When he woke up, he felt arms around him. He was confused so he looked around, only to have his attention drawn to a pair of emerald green eyes. Open eyes.

"Harry?" Draco gently sat up and he saw Harry smiling at him.

"Hello Draco." Harry whispered.


	15. Chapter 15

"You're awake!" Draco said in awe.

"Good observation," Harry chuckled. Draco stared at him far a little while longer and then launched himself back at Harry and held on tight, not wanting to let him go any more. Harry smiled and held him too.

"I'm so glad you're awake, I was starting to worry you know!" Draco scolded him softly but all Harry did was smile.

"I know and I'm sorry for that. I'm just glad that you finally know me and I know a lo about you too. I'm glad I don't have to keep anything secret anymore," Harry sighed

"Tell me everything Harry; how did you pull all of this of?" Draco asked after a while, settling down next to Harry and resting his head on the teen's chest.

"Well, first I was caught in this darkness and I couldn't get out. I didn't exactly like that so I just started pushing against it with my magic. It got me into this peaceful world that I just can't describe and I had some time to think. And I thought about our relationship and the fact that you didn't know me as well as I wanted you to know me. I created Harry age 4 and send him to you. It was also the ultimate chance to see you from another side as well, to get to know you, because I could see how you treated 4 year old me. I could see it all.

From then on I decided that I would send other Harry's as well, all with a different memory of how my life was and how I became who I am today. I'm sorry that you were burdened with me but it was the only thing I could think of while being in a coma and not being able to get out. I'm also sorry for sending those disturbing memories to you and forcing you to watch them, I hope you can forgive me for that," Harry explained and Draco took a while to process it.

"I forgive you Harry. But it wasn't a burden to have you around and I needed to see those memories to fully understand your point of view. Just promise me something," Draco said while looking into Harry's eyes.

"What?"

"Those memories of 13 and 16 year old you, those shocked me the most. Promise to never do that again, please?" Draco pleaded, tears starting to form in his eyes. Harry hugged him tighter.

"Those were dark times in my life. It's not that easy to just give it up but I'll try," Harry promised. Draco nodded and snuggled closer.

"Did you mean it?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Mean what?" Draco asked confused.

"That you love me?" Harry whispered, not looking at Draco, fearing he would be rejected. Draco made quick work of reassuring Harry that he meant it by pressing a gentle kiss against the teen's lips. Harry gasped at the gentleness and Draco slipped his tongue past Harry's lush lips.

"You prat, how could I not love you? You don't know how happy I was when you told me you loved me in the memory of 11 year old you. I was stunned, yes. But I was also so happy. Did you know that I had a crush on you since 5th year? Probably sooner but that's when I first realized it. So yes Harry, I really love you." Draco said firmly and now Harry was the one with tears in his eyes.

"I love you too," Harry whispered and kissed Draco with all his passion, telling the blonde exactly just how much he loved him.

"You know, I should actually thank Longbottom," Draco said. Harry frowned.

"Because he saved your life, and I'm forever grateful that you are here with me because of it," Draco explained and Harry looked away, now ashamed of his behaviour. Draco would have non of it.

"You really are lucky to be here you know? If he was a few minutes later, you wouldn't have made it. Granted, all of this would have never happened but then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to get to know the love of my life. If you ever feel like that again, tell me and I'll make you feel good again.

I know a place were very few people dare to come and I'll take you there. 11 year old you thought it was a very peaceful place and that he could sit there all day long, just thinking. I just don't want to lose you Harry, not when I just found you, not ever," Draco confessed and Harry's tears were now making a silent path down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry Draco. I'm sorry for worrying you. I promise I'll stop. I'll stop just for you, because I know you can make me feel good again. Just never leave me and I'll be alright," Harry whispered and received another heated kiss from Draco.

"Never! I'll never leave you love," Draco told him firmly and they sat in silence for a while, thinking about what had happened that changed their lives so radically.

After a while, Harry felt Draco's hand gripping his and his soft lips on his own chapped ones. Harry moaned at the sweetness of the kissed and pressed himself against Draco, seeking as much contact as possible.

"I love you with every fibre of my being and I want you to never doubt it," Draco whispered against Harry's mouth. He felt him nod and kissed his lover again.

"I love you too Draco, I love you so very much, that I'm almost scared of believing this is all true," Harry said softly.

"Well you better believe it because it really is true," Draco said.

It wouldn't take long for the Quartet to find out that Harry was awake, so they just snuggled up together, talking softly and enjoying each other's presence, till their friends would come and demand answers. They would handle it together because both finally knew the other in every way possible and no one could tear them apart, not ever.

THE END


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